TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Today, Attorney General Ashley Moody and U.S. Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) introduced the Immigration and Enforcement Partnership Act of 2023 in the U.S. Congress. The effort would give states more authority to combat illegal immigration.
Recently renewed Title 42 is set to expire again in May, and Moody says President Joe Biden’s administration does not have an adequate plan to deal with the expected flood of inadmissible immigrants into our country.
“In just two years, Biden has completely destroyed border security. U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources report that 1.2 MILLION inadmissible immigrants evaded authorities,” Attorney General Ashley Moody wrote in a statement. “The out-of-control Southwest Border continues to allow thousands of pounds of illicit and deadly substances like fentanyl into the country, causing record-shattering drug overdose deaths in the United States.”
“If the federal government refuses to act, then state attorneys general should be able to step up and actually enforce our nation’s laws – to protect the citizens of their states,” Moody added.
STATE OFFICIALS WOULD ENFORCE THE LAW
Under the Act, if a state attorney general finds that DHS is not adequately fulfilling the non-discretionary duties, the attorney general may request in writing that the DHS secretary do so. No later than 30 days after receiving a request, the secretary shall either ensure that the duties are adequately fulfilled by officers and employees of the DHS, or authorize state officials to enforce federal immigration law.
“Maintaining operational control over our borders is critical to our security and our ability to stop drug smugglers, human traffickers, and those on terrorist watch lists, who are invading our country and mean to do harm to our communities,” said Posey. “When the federal government abdicates its role in securing our nation’s borders and refuses to enforce immigration laws, states should have authority to protect their citizens.”
Since President Biden took office, more than 4.5 million immigrant encounters have occurred at the southwest border, with more than 250,000 encounters in December 2022 alone. CBP estimates that 1.2 million gotaways evaded authorities and entered the U.S. during Biden’s first two years of office.
